What Will This New Job Cost YOU?
By
Katie O'Hara
One of the most important (if not the most important) benefit of a job
is the salary. The salary you earn is very important – it's how you pay
your bills and support yourself and your family. When looking for a new
job you'll often have a number in your head that you want to earn. It
doesn't matter if this is an hourly rate or annual salary; it is very
important to remain flexible when considering a salary offer for the
following reason – you don't know how much this new position is going to
cost you.
Think about it for just a minute. There is a financial cost associated
with any job. Many factors play a role in the out of pocket expenses a job
will cost you. Many times a potential employer is not going to disclose to
you the costs associated with benefits sooner than the offer phase. For
this reason it's critical not to throw out a number too early in the
interview process because you just don't know how much you'll need to
actually make to bring home your desired salary.
So what expenses are associated with a job? Some of them are obvious. Take
health insurance, for example. Depending on the size of the company or the
insurance carrier selected there can be considerable differences in cost.
For example: your current employer requires an out of pocket payment from
you of $200 a pay period. The new employer requires $100 a pay period.
We'll assume there are the same number of pays per year. If you're paid
bi-weekly that's a difference of $2,600 per year in your pocket (before
taxes).
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What about the accepted dress code of the company, either official or
unofficial? If you're coming from a company where it's casual dress
every day and you're going to one where suits are the norm you might
have to put out several hundred dollars to obtain the necessary
wardrobe.
How is the commute? If you're commuting a long distance now and the new
company is just a few minutes away you're going to save money on gas and
automobile maintenance (if you drive) or possibly in public
transportation costs.
Are you required to work overtime hours? You might be paid for overtime
at your current company, but you new employer might not pay you for
overtime. Maybe one job requires you to be “on call” after hours
(unpaid) while the other position doesn't have this requirement. Figure
out the actual number of hours you work now or will be required to work
in the new position, divided by your annual salary to get a true hourly
rate in order to compare the two jobs. If your current employer requires
five hours a week of unpaid overtime and the new employer does not have
any overtime, on paper a lateral salary move would be in fact a raise
based on what you are paid per hour.
Other considerations to include in your comparison include 401(k)
contribution, tuition reimbursement, company paid
professional registrations and membership, parking, on-site health
clubs, vacation and personal days, company provided cell phone and/or
laptop, flexible schedules, on-site daycare, pre-tax spending accounts,
paid training, and the ability to telecommute. While you might not be
able to associate a financial cost with these items, something as simple
as a flexible schedule might be more important to you than an extra
$1.50 per hour.
Once you are able to determine the out of pocket expenses for both the
new company and your current company you can come up with a figure that
will allow you to cover your out of pocket expenses while bringing home
the salary you desire.
About The Author: Katie is the owner of
http://www.onlinecareerinfo.com where you can learn more about
http://www.onlinecareerinfo.com and
http://www.onlinecareerinfo.com/category/interview/
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